Subscribe to Femina.in, India's fastest growing women's website

Femina has been capturing the essence of the Indian woman for 58 years now, and has evolved with her over the years bringing the world to her doorstep. And now, here's your chance to get the dope on everything--from celebrities and fashion, beauty and wellness, to lifestyle and relationships--delivered directly to your inbox. Plus expert tips, polls, contests and other interactive articles and a whole lot more!

‘Gujarat riots still haunt me’

Shabnam Hashmi started the organisation ANHAD after the Gujarat riots of 2002 and it has one overriding goal: to do what it takes to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again. Born to a freedom fighter father and a mother who hailed from a literary background, Hashmi, 58, remembers growing up in a very progressive family that believed in gender equality. Hashmi’s life changed in a single moment in January 1989 when her brother Safdar Hashmi, noted communist, playwright and director, was murdered while performing street theatre. Today, Hashmi, a gritty activist, runs Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) with like-minded friends and academicians. However, she didn’t jump into social activism all of a sudden.“I became actively involved in social causes sometime in 1981, during my student years. Then, when my brother Safdar was murdered in 1989, I found SAHMAT (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust), which I ran for 15 years. When the Gujarat carnage happened in 2002, my husband Gauhar Raza, my son Sahir and I visited the state. What I saw shook me and convinced me to take up activism,” she says.

Hashmi, during her Gujarat visit, visited Naroda Patiya when it was still burning and several relief camps across all the districts of Gujarat. When she visited Gujarat again, she met and conversed with women who were victims of gang rape. She says, “I met around 50 women survivors across different districts. There were cases of men who had raped women, inserted iron rods, cut off their breasts and committed many other atrocities. ANHAD was born thereof and its first works included fighting prejudice and bringing communities together.” Under the aegis of ANHAD, Hashmi also helped three gang-rape victims move the court for justice.

ANHAD and Janvikas, along with other organisations, then fought the long battle to get relief packages for the displaced families. Currently, they are involved in relief and rehabilitation work involving survivors of conflict in Gujarat and Kashmir and helping victims of natural calamities.

She is also running the NGO Pehchan that recently helped 32 girls from marginalised backgrounds clear their Class Ten exams. All these girls had dropped out of school due to poverty and family pressure.